Magdi Mostafa

In their exploration of the conceptual connections between sound (as a reminder of past experiences) and space (architectural, urban, private, public, imaginary or real), Magdi Mostafa’s installations set out to map the effects of globalisation on local traditions, the individual’s phenomenological involvement in the city, and interpersonal relationships between citizens.

Magdi Mostafa has shown his work in venues including the Townhouse Gallery (Cairo), the Sharjah Biennial, ZKM (Karlsruhe), the New Museum (New York) and Bozar (Brussels).

Works

La vie moderne

The Surface of Spectral Scattering, 2014

In their exploration of the conceptual connections between sound (as a reminder of past experiences) and space (private, public, imaginary or real), Magdi Mostafa’s installations set out to map the effects of globalization on local traditions, the individual’s subjective experience, and interpersonal relationships between citizens. The work he is presenting at the Biennale, The Surface of Spectral Scattering, is an aerial view of Cairo by night. The homes and buildings of Cairo are represented by roughly ten thousand LED bulbs and around twenty-three thousand connections, fed by fifteen different power centres. Each power supply is triggered by sound waves on the periphery of the installation. The soundtrack (Cairo by night) is connected to the intensity of the lights; it envelops the visitor, setting off vague memories as if they were contained within the limits of a reduced scale megalopolis.